Brand Noise

GTA Marmite Modding

According to Stuff.co.nz a New Zealand kid, Stacy O'Callaghan is in some trouble for adapting Grand Theft Auto to suit his domestic conditions - complete with detailed images of modern New Zealand police cars and uniforms.  The police are not amused and are threatening legal action. Police national headquarters spokesman Jon Neilson said its legal team was investigating whether the modified version - which lets armed vehicle thieves bash and kill police officers - breached regulations concerning the use of police insignia.

The Machine Is Us

We've come a long way from HAL, the machine in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey that rebels at the plan to disconnect him.  The fear of machines in these films is rooted in the fear of them as a separated and uncontrollable force. They are not us.  But now it seems that we are clearly transitioning into a new period in which machine and human mesh.  The machine is us now.  We mod and mash-up the real and the virtual.  The challenge going forward is to balance the relationship.  To understand and negotiate the layers of real and hyperreal. This is the new narrative that defines us.

An article in Time Magazine this week discusses this fusing of man and machine as  seen in new releases like Iron Man and Speed Racer.  "We live in an age of sophisticated machines. They do much of our work for us; we spend most of our playtime with them. So let's recognize our symbiosis with machines--and celebrate our mastery of them--in movies that couldn't be made without them."  Read more

The Chaste Vampire Generation

Time Magazine this week looks into  fiction phenom, Stephenie Meyer. Meyer, 34, is a huge success at selling books, but she's becoming something more. People dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands.

But it is the rare vampire novel that isn't about sex on some level, and the Twilight books are no exception. What makes Meyer's books so distinctive is that they're about the erotics of abstinence. Their tension comes from prolonged, superhuman acts of self-restraint. There's a scene midway through Twilight in which, for the first time, Edward leans in close and sniffs the aroma of Bella's exposed neck. "Just because I'm resisting the wine doesn't mean I can't appreciate the bouquet," he says. "You have a very floral smell, like lavender ... or freesia." He barely touches her, but there's more sex in that one paragraph than in all the snogging in Harry Potter. Read more

Miuccia Prada and the Marriage of Art and Fashion

(from Financial Times) Miuccia Prada symbolises perfectly the merging of these two multimillion-pound industries. Not only are her collections feted for the kind of conceptual audacity that would shame many a so-called artist but she has also acted as a generous patron for all things cutting edge.

Miuccia Prada has already shown that fashion – quick-moving, dynamic, ferociously embracing globalisation – can outsmart more ponderous forms of expression. But the problem, which she recognises as surely as anyone, is this: as art learns those lessons and becomes more approachable and, arguably, more facile, will it lose its sense of gravitas?

Last week the 58-year-old designer announced plans for a new headquarters for her 15-year-old Prada Foundation, in a former spirits distillery in Milan. The €25m project, masterminded by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, will restore most of the distillery’s original buildings as well as providing three new structures.  Read more (FT.com)

All Over the World, Teens Crave Empowerment

Last season, Frontline/World ran a story from the Middle East that introduced viewers to the fastest selling comic book in the Arab world, The 99. The comic features characters with super powers based on the concept of Allah's 99 attributes, including wisdom and generosity, as taught in the Koran. Its creator, Naif al-Mutawa, is a 36-year-old from Kuwait who was educated in the United States and who, as a boy, devoured Marvel comics and the Hardy Boys mysteries.

Reporter Isaac Solotaroff followed al-Mutawa as he marketed his comics throughout the Middle East, hoping to spread a moderate, modern image of Islam to the world. In this update, Solotaroff catches up with al-Mutawa in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the comic creator is trying to sell his work to the largest Islamic country in the world, a country that accounts for one in six of all Muslims worldwide. An ensuing documentary, Wham! Bam! Islam!, is in the works. Go, Isaac!

Even more compelling will be to see how the Islamic comic fans evolve. Will the cosplayers take it to the next level? Spirituality already underlies many a Manga. And, apparently, you can even see lotsa hijabi girls in Malaysia attending cosplay events. Could cosplay become the common ground the world needs? Can kids who think change the world? In our own research we've found the cosplay kids to be some of the most open-minded serious global thinkers. It belies the initial impression often viewed simply as kids in costume. These are not the Star Trekkies of past generations.   

Joy Division Zune

Cool Gen X news.....Microsoft is readying a Joy Division edition of its Zune MP3 player to coincide with the June 10 release of an eponymous DVD about the band.

Being Young in China

Young & Restless in China tracks the lives of nine Chinese Gen X'ers over four years as they scramble to keep pace with a society changing faster than any in history. Raised under communism they are now making their way in China's blazing capitalist economy. Their stories of ambition, exuberance, crime and corruption are interwoven with moments of love, heartbreak and passion. Together they capture the changing values, hopes and dreams of a pivotal generation.

Good Technology Makes Good Pictures, Not Smiles

Why is a smile synonymous with a good picture? Sony has been banking on the connection with its new Cyber-Shot camera with its Smile Shutter technology. Yet reviews are less than favorable: “Smile shutter sounds appealing in theory…But it strikes me as a work in progress.”

My own favorite photos of my six-year-old daughter are when she’s at her most contemplative. Maybe they can fine-tune a camera for me with a Brood Button? This is a case of where technology is not keeping up. The smile thing as good photography is something that lives in the realm of boomers and silents.

Not such a provocative concept considering that the first successful picture was produced in June/July 1827 by Niépce required an exposure of eight hours. Who could have possibly smiled that long?  Things didn't get snappy until about a century later.

(photo: Sabine demonstrates that pain makes a great picture.)

Haagen-Dazs Promotes HoneyBee Buzz

Haagen-Dazs demonstrates some interesting and relevant green marketing with with their "Help the Honeybees" campaign.  Haagen-Dazs uses the campaign to warn that decline of the honeybee could become a big problem for the premium ice cream maker's business. According to Haagen-Dazs, one-third of the U.S. food supply - including a variety of fruits, vegetables and even nuts - depends on pollination from bees.

The campaign works well in promoting a real environmental cause, while also emphasizing the premium and natural positioning of the brand.  It is tied well to the value of the brand and plugs the consumer into what goes into quality ice cream.  Pretty basic.  Real flavors need real fruits - and that needs honeybees.  The campaign includes a new flavor launch called "Vanilla Honeybee" to further promote the cause.

Redefining Luxury: From Excess to Stealth

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